New Roommate
by Silver Dread
Summary: Arthur moves to America to go to college. As if everything isn't bad enough, he's stuck with an obnoxious American as his roommate. But maybe, it seems, he might just fall for him... (America X England human names used) (This will include plenty of other pairings but the main plot has to do with USUK and the rating may change later)
1. Chapter 1

"Arthur, dear, are you ready to go? You're going to be late for your flight if you don't hurry!" My mother called up to my room.

"I know, Mum, I'll be right down!" I yell. I take a quick glance around my room, making sure for the last time that I have everything I might need. This is the last time I will see this room for quite a while.

I'm taking a plane to America, where I'll be going to college. I was accepted immediately to the school and they offered to pay for everything. There was no way I could refuse. All of the other colleges around where I live in England don't offer what I want to go into or they're too expensive or far away.

As I look at the room I've spent my childhood in, I smile. This is going to be different, but it'll be worth it. Father would be proud of me, I know he would. He had always wanted at least one of his children to grow up and be successful. I can't let him down.

"Arthur! Hurry up!" My mother's yelling snaps me out of my thoughts and I hurry downstairs. "It took you long enough, boy. Are you done saying good bye to the house?"

"Oh, there's no need to make fun at me, Mum. Now let's go before I'm stuck here any longer." We hurry out the door, yelling out one last goodbye to my brothers. I don't bother to give them a proper goodbye. Why should I? After all, all they've ever done is push me around and beat me up.

Rain pours down on us as we dash to the car. My suitcase and other bags are already loaded into the trunk of the car. The car is quickly started and my mother pulls out of our driveway. The windshield wipers struggle to keep up with the constant downpour. I look out the window and watch the familiar landscape rush by me. This had always been my home and it's honestly hard to leave it all behind.

"Arthur, love, are you alright? You know you don't have to go through with this…" My mother says quietly. I know she's opposed to the fact that I'm moving to America for school. She had claimed the other day that _any _college in England would be closer than one in America. I had merely shrugged it off. For me, there's no backing out now.

"I'm fine, Mum. You always ask that and I will always be fine." I say, not even bothering to look at her. I'm too preoccupied with my own thoughts to pay attention to her worrying. That might be a bit of an issue though. She raised me better than to ignore her. She raised me to be a gentleman, and going to America should not change any of that. "I'm terribly sorry, Mum, I've just got a lot on my mind."

"I know, dear, I know. It's quite alright. I just want to make sure that you positively want to move to America."

"There's no going back now. You know that." I look at her for a moment, seeing the worry in her eyes. "I'll be fine, I swear."

"I believe you… It's just frightening for both of us, I suppose."

"That it is…" I agree quietly. Not much else is said for the next thirty minutes. Neither of us know what to expect from America, so I'm going in practically blind. I don't even know what kind of people are going to be attending or what most of the professors are like. Bloody hell, I don't even know what the weather will be like. I don't know if I'm ready for this…

No. I am ready for this. As I said, there is absolutely no backing out. I must go through with this. There is no way around it.

My mother soon pulls into the large parking lot of the airport. We hurry and grab my luggage from the trunk and run to the cover of the terminal. As I drag my bags behind me, I glance over to my mother. I can almost see tears in her eyes. I've known that she's been crying for the past few nights; I could hear her. I don't want to see her upset… But I have to do this. And the only way to do it is if I leave England and my family.

We soon reach the security line. I stop and turn to my mother. She looks at me with sad green eyes. "I'll miss you, love. More than you know."

"I know, Mum… I'll miss you too. Please make sure my brothers don't get into too much trouble. They won't have me to push around anymore, I wouldn't want them to find someone else to bully." I give her a small smile.

"Oh, I know. I'll be keeping an eye on them…" There's a short pause. "You should probably get going, security is a bloody terrible thing."

"Alright… Goodbye, then." I say. She pulls me into a tight hug.

"Make sure you come back for Christmas. I won't forgive you if you don't. Now get a move on. I love you. Goodbye for now, dear."

"I love you too, Mum." I say as she lets me go. With a tight hold on my bag, I enter the security line. I watch as my mother waves to me one last time before walking away. I gaze after her until she turns the corner, out of sight.

Security takes about ten minutes to get through. As soon as I'm through, I rush to the gate my flight is taking off from. I check my ticket and head in the right direction. It doesn't take long for me to reach the gate, though I am one of the last ones to board. _I can't believe I'm late… _I scold myself. Being late is not something I enjoy.

I walk onto the plane and look around in the cramped space. I spot an empty seat near the middle and I quickly make my way towards it. After stuffing my carry-on bag into the compartment above my seat, I sit down next to a young woman with earbuds in. It seems already that this will be a peaceful flight.

It doesn't take long for the plane to take off. I glance over the woman, watching my home country fall out beneath me. I watch the rainy and gloomy land that I've lived in all of my life until the plane passes through the dark clouds. I sigh and sit back in my seat.

I pull off my jacket and set it underneath my seat, pulling out a small book before I do so. I have a feeling I might just finish this book before my flight is over. It is a ten hour flight after all. I open the book to where I left off. Not that I would ever tell this to my brothers or mother, but I absolutely love romance books. My suitcase has several of my favorites safely packed away. I've read the one I hold in my hands about five times now, but it never gets old.

I flip through the old pages with ease. I lose track of the time as I get lost in the story. Soon enough, my eyelids begin to feel heavy and I start to drift off into sleep. I rest my head against the headrest, closing my eyes.

When I wake up again, there is only an hour and a half left to go on the flight. I look around and grab my book from where it fell on the floor. I dust a few crumbs off of the cover and open it back up. I read for some time before my stomach rumbles at me. It's been almost nine hours since I last had anything to eat… I shake my head and attempt to ignore the discomfort. It's only another hour, probably less now. I'll survive without food for that long.

After another hour of reading and trying to wake up my left foot, which fell asleep, the plane lands on the runway of the airport. When we're allowed to get up, I wait for other people to get off first. When there is a gap in the line of people, I step out into the aisle, reaching up and grabbing my bag. I look at the young woman who had been next to me. "Go ahead, miss." I say with a polite smile.

"Oh, thank you." She smiles back, stepping into the aisle and grabs her own bag. I make my way out of the plane and into the airport terminal. I look around at the number of signs. There is a rather large one hanging from the ceiling saying: _Welcome to North Dakota_. A little farther down, I spot a sign reading _Baggage Claim._ I hurry over to that area, not wanting to miss the bus to the school.

As I wait for my bags to appear, I look around, observing the different people. It's not as crowded as the terminal in London was, but it's certainly busy. Most of the people here are American, but there are a few other nationalities here and there. It's not a surprise considering North Dakota isn't much of a tourist spot.

I grab my bag and suitcase quickly as they pass by. I glance around once again, finding the sign that says _Transportation. _Wheeling my suitcase behind me, I walk over there, avoiding people as they pass by. Americans can be so ignorant sometimes; they don't even watch where they're walking.

I walk through the doors under the _Transportation _sign. There is a small group of people standing quietly around a sign that says the name of my new school. I make my way over there, not making eye contact with any of the other students, assuming that's who they are. I look around at the different people. There are people of all different nationalities, no one is from the same place, except there are two Italians. I look back at the ground. It seems there's no chance of meeting another British person.

"Why, hello there!" I hear a voice say from in front of me. That accent… I can't place it. I look up at the person who had spoken. "I assume you are going to this fine school as well?" It's a man with long blond hair and small bit of stubble along his chin and jaw. His blue eyes gaze at me and a seductive, if that's what he thinks it is, smile is across his lips.

"Yes, I am." I state simply.

"Oh, I look forward to going to school with such a handsome man. And an English one at that, I suppose." He grins. French, I realize with despair. The heavy accent is French.

"And I get to spend it with a Frenchman, I suppose." I reply dryly.

"Oh, you recognized my accent, _mon ami, _I feel so loved." He drapes an arm around my shoulder.

"Well, don't, Frog." I say, pushing him away.

"So harsh." He pouts. "No matter! I shall not give up." At that moment, the bus pulls towards the curb. I silently thank it for arriving at that moment. I don't think I would have been able to handle much more of him. I take a seat on the bus, dragging my bags with me. I store two of them in the compartment above where I choose to sit, which is far away from that bloody Frog, and the smaller bag sits on my lap.

The bus is rather silent; it seems that there isn't a single person that knows another. The only talking is between that Frog and a cheery looking Spaniard. There's a little one sided chatter from a small energetic Italian to an uptight looking German. Other than that, it's fairly peaceful.

Nobody sits near me. The closest person to me is a small Japanese man who doesn't seem like he would be one to talk much. I sigh in relief and rest my head against the window as we begin to drive off. Other than that annoying Frenchman, I don't think this will be too bad. No more brothers, no more constant rain, no more overprotective mother. I do miss England already, but I don't think I will suffer here.

It doesn't take long to get to the school campus. As we drive closer, everyone cranes their necks to get a better look of where we'll be staying. It's not a terribly small campus, but it isn't big at all. There are several large buildings clustered together and off to the side I can see what looks like the dorms. The grass is well taken care of and the buildings aren't run down and old. It seems like a nice place.

The bus driver stops in front of one of the buildings. Before any of us can get off, a short lady boards the bus and stands in front of us all. "Hello everyone! Welcome to your new college! My name is Emilia Miles. The main office and other various offices are located here in this building. I'd like all of you to check in at the main office and someone will show you to your dorm. There are translators if needed." She gives us all a warm smile. "If there are any questions, any of the staff would be happy to help." With that, she exits the bus. Everyone seems to get up at once. I quickly try to get off the bus after I grab my bags to avoid the Frog. I eventually make it off, no sign of the Frenchman. We all walk towards the main office in a herd, following signs set up on the walls.

When we eventually find it, we're separated into three lines by last name. To my relief, the Frenchman is in a different line. The lines move quickly and soon I'm at the desk.

"Name?" The lady asks.

"Arthur Kirkland."

She looks up at me. "You're British?" At my nod, she smiles. "Finally, someone who can speak fluent English…" She reaches below the desk and grabs a key and a couple papers. "You'll just have to fill these out and turn them into your dorm supervisor. Your dorm room is B273. There's a group of House B people over there." She points to a group standing by the door. "Someone will show you to your dorm shortly."

"Thank you." I say as I take the key and papers. I make my way over to the other people of House B. The Japanese person from before is here too. The Spaniard, two Italians, the German, and several others I don't recognize. Just as I feel relieved that the Frog isn't here, I feel an arm around my waist.

"It seems we meet again, _mon ami._" He whispers in my ear.

"Gah! Keep your bloody hands to your damned self!" I say shoving him away.

"Such a foul mouth for such a gentleman." He leans closer to me. "I might just have to punish you for that." I glare at him and I can hear the Spaniard laughing quietly. "Oh, dear me, I can't believe I forgot! I'm being rude." He holds a hand out to me. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

I just look at his hand. "Well, Francis, I'd appreciate it if you'd honor my personal space."

"You have my deepest apologies, _mon ami."_

"And stop calling me that, I'm not your friend. My name is Arthur."

"Arthur, what a… bland name. I suppose it fits someone as bland as you though." He smiles.

"Leave me alone, Frog." I cross my arms and glare. He opens his mouth to say something else but someone from the staff of the school walks over to our group.

"House B, follow me." He says. We all grab our bags and follow the guide. We exit the building and he leads us to the dorms. We go to the second building in and he stops us in the lobby. "This is dorm House B. I am the dorm supervisor, Garret. There is a copy of the dorm rules in each of the rooms. Make sure you read them over. You are now free to find your room. Please be nice to one another and try to get along." With that, he leaves us. We all look around at each other before slowly making our way to find our rooms. I swear, if I get stuck anywhere near that bloody Frog, I will kill him in his sleep.

I walk down one of the hallways, scanning the numbers as I go by. I think I'm in the right hallways considering they all say B200 or higher. I feel a light tug at my sleeve. "Excuse me." I turn and see the Japanese person from before.

"Hello." I say, a small smile on my face.

"I was wondering if your room was anywhere near mine. I can't seem to find it. My room number is B279." His accent is thick but I can still understand him.

"Oh, yes, that is by my room. Mine is B273. Let's walk together then." He gives me a small smile and we walk down the hallway together.

"So, what is your name?" He asks.

"I'm Arthur Kirkland. And yours?"

"I am Kiku Honda. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Kiku. Where are you from?" I ask, not wanting to be rude by assuming that he's Japanese.

"I'm from Japan. Where are you from?"

"That's interesting. I'm from England. So, is this your first time in America?"

"No, I've been in this country twice before. What about you?"

"It's my first time. I've never had the money to travel much."

"Ah, it is the same for me as well. We only came for some business my father had to attend to."

"What does your father do?"

"Manufacturing." We continue to talk about random things like that until I finally find my room.

"It seems this is where we part." I say. "Maybe I'll see you around."

"Yes, that would be nice. Have a good day, Arthur."

"Same to you, Kiku." We smile and he leaves to find his own room. That was pleasant. I think I'm going to like being in school with him. I turn and open the door of my room, finding it already unlocked. This must mean my roommate is already here.

And he is. Laying on one of the beds is a tall muscular American. A few strands of his sandy blond hair stick up in the front and glasses rest on the bridge of his nose. He looks at me with bright blue eyes. "Hey! You must be my roommate!" He quickly stands up and walks over to me. "My name's Alfred. Alfred Jones." He smiles widely and sticks out his hand.

Not wanting to be rude, I take it and shake it. "My name is Arthur Kirkland."

"Whoa, dude, you have such a cool accent!" He exclaims. "You're from England?"

"Yes, I am. I take it you're from around here?" I nod and set my bags on the empty bed.

"Yeah, I am! All out American!" He laughs. I look around the room. There are the two beds on opposite walls and two matching desks at the end of each of them, along with a dresser. It's slightly small but it will have to do. "So what are you looking to major in here? I mean, you came all the way from England, it's gotta be good."

"I'm looking to be an author. What about yourself?"

"An author? Lame!" He says dramatically. "I'm majoring in physics!"

I shoot him an annoyed look at the insult to my dream. "Writing is not lame. I happen to like it a lot." I snort. "Physics, however, seems quite _lame."_

"I'm going into Aero Physics actually. Like, how they get planes to fly and whatever!" He continues, ignoring what I said. "I wanna be able to fly a plane! One of the little ones though, not a commercial airplane."

"As interesting as that is, I'm quite tired and would appreciate some quiet." I say, unzipping my suitcase.

"You act kinda like an old man, ya know. How old are you anyways?" He says, completely ignoring my request.

"I'm nineteen. I am most definitely not an old man." I glare at him.

"Really? Well, you're older than me, I'm eighteen." He flops back down on his bed. "Why did you come to America anyways? Aren't there boring schools in England for the whole writing thingy you wanna do?"

"I came because I got a full ride scholarship and none of the colleges in England we close enough or cheap enough." I say without emotion. I'm starting to dislike this obnoxious American.

"Cheap enough? Are you poor or something?"

"That is none of your damned business." I say, starting to get a bit frustrated. I carefully put my clothes into the dresser. I separate my clothing. Trousers in one drawer, shirts and jumpers in another, everything else in the top drawer.

"Whoa, I didn't mean to offend ya or nothing." That stupid grin is still on his face. How can somebody like him possibly go into Aero Physics? I just shake my head and continue on unpacking. I jump as an obnoxious noise sound behind me. "Sorry, it's my phone." Alfred says, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. I ignore him while he talks on the phone and finish unpacking. I set my small collection of books on my desk.

"I'm leaving! My brother said he wants to meet me for lunch. See ya later, Artie!" Alfred waves at me before running out the door.

"My name is Arthur, you bloody git!" I yell after him. I shudder at the thought that there is another person like Alfred.

Sighing, I lay down on the bed. I've changed my mind. This will not be tolerable. Between that Frog and the American and being away from England in general, I have a feeling I'm going to be miserable here.

_Oh, why did I have to get stuck with him…?_ I think to myself, dozing off to sleep.

* * *

Ok, so this is probably gonna be a long one. As always, feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated! I've never written a fanfic quite like this one so try to bear with me. I hope you like it and stick with it!


	2. Chapter 2

For this chapter, I should warn you that there is rape. It's not between any of the characters, it's something Arthur is writing... Kinda messed up, but that's Iggy for ya! I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

When I wake up, I feel a vibration in my pocket. I look around groggily and realize it's my phone going off. I quickly dig it out of my pocket and answer it. "Hello?"

"Arthur, dear lord, I thought you had died!" I hear my mother's voice come through the phone. I groan silently.

"I'm fine, Mum." I say.

"You don't sound fine. What happened? You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm not hurt…" I happen to be slightly annoyed, but I'm not going to tell her that.

"Are you sure?" She sounds worried.

"Yes, mother, of course I am sure! Now what do you want?"

"I wanted to check in on you. I've been ringing you for the past half an hour." She says.

"I was sleeping…" I groan.

"What were you sleeping for? You had a whole plane ride to sleep!"

"I did… Mum, just leave me alone. You need to stop worrying."

I can just imagine her shocked face right now. "How dare you talk to me in such a manner! I am your mother and I expect better from a young gentleman like you."

I shut my eyes in exasperation. "I don't live with you any longer. You don't have to control me anymore. You don't have the right to control me, actually." I hear the door to the room open and close and I see Alfred and someone who looks extremely similar, almost identical, walk in.

"Arthur Kirkland!" She practically screams. I have to move the phone away from my ear to keep from doing deaf. "I will drag you home to England this instant if you don't learn how to behave! Respect your mother!"

"And what if I don't want to, Mum? What if I'm done dealing with all your shite! Now why don't you just bugger off?"

"How dare you use that language with me!? I will speak to you only when you're done being such a blooming git!"

"I could say the same to you!" I yell right back and end the call, throwing my phone down on my bed.

I can feel Alfred's eyes staring at me. "Dude, is everything ok?" He asks.

"It's just my mother." I mutter.

"I take it you're not on the best terms with her?"

"No, not really." I glance over at him. I honestly can't believe I said such things to my own mother but it just came out. I'm probably going to regret it later and will have to apologize but it doesn't matter right now.

"Do you… Do ya wanna talk about it?" He says.

"No, I don't. Mind your own business." I say, sitting up. I immediately realize that he was just trying to be nice. "I apologize… I shouldn't be so rude."

"No, it's all good. I understand, parent problems are hard to deal with." He shrugs and gives me a friendly smile. "Oh! By the way, this is Matt! He's my brother! Well, half-brother."

The other Alfred looking man smiles. "Hey, nice to meet you." His voice is so quiet and soft.

"Likewise, Matt. My name is Arthur." I smile back.

"Matt's a sophomore here! He's like two years older than me."

"You're older than him? It seems like he would be the older of the two." I say to Matt.

"Yeah, I am. His father passed on his build to Alfred though." He shrugs. I think I detect a bit of an accent in his speech but I'm having a hard time deciding what it is.

"So you two share your mother, if you don't mind my prying?"

"Yeah, our mom lived in Canada for a while, married his dad, and had Matt. Then he kinda… died, and then she remarried to an American here!" Alfred says. "Then came me!" So Matt is Canadian, I should have known.

"What about you, Arthur? Do you have any siblings?" Matt asks.

I grimace at the memory of my family. "Yes, three older brothers…"

Matt looks at me with sympathy. "Ooh, that sounds kinda rough. I can tell from the tone of your voice that you don't get along too well?"

"No, we don't. They pushed me around a lot but I suppose that's what brothers do." I shrug.

"Yeah, they can be annoying." Matt laughs a little, glancing at Alfred. "Well, I should probably get out of here. I have to get back to House A before my supervisor gets upset again. It was nice meeting you, Arthur."

"Same to you." After he says goodbye to Alfred, he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

Alfred jumps onto his bed and leans against the wall. "Do you have any plans for today?" He asks.

"No, not particularly. I've never been here before so I hadn't planned on doing anything."

"Then let's go explore the campus! It would be pretty bad if we got lost on Monday!" His face lights up.

"It's been a long day. I'd rather not do anything but relax."

"C'mon! It'll be fun! Besides, relaxing is boring!"

"Relaxing is peaceful, not boring. Why don't you go exploring by yourself?"

"Because I wanna go with a friend!"

"That still doesn't explain why you want to go with me." I state dryly. I have no interest in being friends with him. He's too obnoxious and annoying and _American._

"We could be friends, right?"

"No."

I see his face fall a little and the cheery expression falter. "C'mon, let's go explore!"

"No." I say. I start to feel a little bad for flat out rejecting him. "Maybe tomorrow." I add quickly.

The smile comes back. "You mean it? Woohoo!" I just roll my eyes. Such a child.

"Calm down. I said maybe." I grumble. Maybe it would be better to just not talk to him. I stand up and go over to my suitcase, rummaging through it to find something to eat. The growling in my stomach starts again.

"What are you doing?" Alfred asks.

"Getting some food. I haven't eaten since… what would it be…? One in the morning here, I believe." I smile as I find the plate of scones my mother had snuck into my luggage. I pull it out and sit back down on my bed. I take one of the scones and bite into it, discovering that there are blueberries inside. One thing my mother was good at way remembering what I like.

"Damn! That's a long time! It's already past three in the afternoon! Do you want to go out and get something to eat?"

"No, I'm content for now with these." I hold up my half eaten scone.

"Ew, what is that?"

"A scone." I pause for a moment. "Would you like to try one?"

"No way! I've heard English cooking is seriously bad…" He quickly adds. "No offense though."

I glare at him. "None taken." I grumble. I finish off the scone in my hand and pick up another.

"Why don't we go get some food in a little bit? It's almost dinner time anyways."

I hesitate. "I… actually don't have much money. I still need to exchange currencies."

"Then I'll pay for it! How about in an hour?"

"Really, I wouldn't want you—"

"An hour it is! There's a restaurant down the street we can go to!" He interrupts me.

"No, Al—"

"You'll like it, trust me! Even if you're used to that gross English stuff, it'll be good!"

I sigh and grumble in defeat. I guess there's no saying no to him. "Fine, if you insist."

"Cool! It'll be fun! You can get used to the town a little faster this way!"

As much as I hated to admit it, he did have a point. "Yes, I suppose so."

"Until then, though, I'm beat! Wake me up in an hour!" He lays down on his bed and closes his eyes.

"Will do…" It doesn't take him long to fall asleep, snoring lightly. Of course he still makes noise, even when he's sleeping. I look around the room and spot the dorm's rules pinned to the wall. I get up and grab them, sitting back down on the bed. I lean against the wall and look over the paper. It's all basically common sense. No fighting, no one of the opposite sex in the dorm, everyone must be in their rooms by 11. I wonder how many people will actually follow these rules. I pin it back onto the wall, grabbing another scone as I return to my bed.

I reach over and grab my journal from my stack of books. I flip through the lined pages to where I last left off. I glance up at Alfred to make sure he really is sleeping before starting to write. It's a book that I've been writing for some time now. It's about one-hundred-fifty pages long so far and I hope to write much more before it's done.

It's actually rather embarrassing. I wouldn't want anyone to read this right now. In all honesty, it's about a girl centaur being captured as a foal and her best friend coming to save her. I wouldn't want people to know that I have a liking for romance, as that's what this book is. Besides, I've always been made fun of for my love of mythical creatures. Unicorns and faeries just fascinate me, I can't help it.

I reread some of what I had already written to get a sense of where I left off and begin writing again. Currently, the young captured centaur, Braidy, is being tortured by her captors.

_They chained together her hooves and hands, pinning her to the filthy ground. The demons laughed in her face. One of them, Sel, she thought his name was, stepped on her bruised cheek. "You shouldn't have tried to escape. You should know that it will only bring you pain."_

_ "__There is no pain greater than being away from my home, you monster!" She spat at him._

_ "__I would just love to prove you wrong." He growls. He signals the other demons to force her to stand. He grabbed a whip from his best, old blood crusted to the leather. He mutters something under his breath, something Braidy strains to hear. The whip is suddenly lit on fire. The flickering, writhing orange light wraps around the length of the whip, but there is no burning or smoke._

_ "__Magic…" She hisses quietly. She hated people who used magic for such things. She loathed them, for it was magic that had captured her in the first place and it was magic that was about to hurt her._

_ "__I want to hear you beg, you filthy horse!" He cracks the whip in the air, the loud sound echoing through the forest. She cringed but did not give in. He glared at her and her defiance. He snapped the whip at her hooves, barely missing. Out of reflex, she stomped her hoof into the dirt nervously. Behind her, her tail lashed in fear. "Scream, slag!" He cracks the whip against her chest, making a large cut across her skin. She grits her teeth but does not scream._

_ "__Maybe you didn't hear me. I said: SCREAM!" He began to whip her numerous times across her torso and even her gentle face. The tip of the leather destroyed her mostly untouched skin. After the tenth lash to her face, she can't hold in the pain any longer. A loud strangled scream ripped through her throat and sounded in the forest._

_ "__That's right, cow, scream! Let the world know how bloody weak you are!" He let the whip fall again, on her throat this time. She whimpered at the pain, not wanting to scream again. She hated screaming with all of her soul. She knew screaming showed weakness and she'd been raised better than to be weak._

_ "__I'm…" She whispers. The whip lands again on her shoulder._

_ "__What was that, slag?" He whips her again, a new mark appearing on her leg._

_ "__I'm… not… weak…" She manages to get out before getting whipped on the face, her lip split. _

_ "__You are weak. You are a weak little child that is going to die before the day is out." Her eyes widen as a rope is put around her neck._

_ "__Wh-what are you… doing to me…?" She gasps, blinking away the blood getting in her emerald green eyes. _

_ "__I might as well have a little fun with this, no? You're so vulnerable, so easily reduced to nothing, so weak…" As he spoke, he inches his way closer to her, dragging a sharp ragged nail across her wounded cheek. He looked her in the eyes, his dark red eyes meeting her green. She clenches her eyes shut but when nothing happens, she opens them again. He's gone._

_She yelps as she feels someone slap her hind leg. She struggles to look behind her to see who touched her. "You squirms so much… It's amusing…" Sel says from behind her. _Damn that bloody magic…_she thought to herself. He dragged his hand over her hind leg and wrapped her tail around it. A knot formed in her stomach as she realized what was happening. She heard the rustle of cloth and saw out of the corner of her eye that his pants had been discarded._

_ "__Beg for me, you cow." She felt something press against her and it wasn't his hand. "Beg…" He rubbed his enormous length next to her entrance. Her body betrayed her. "You want it, don't you, you whore? Take it like the whore you are, then." He slammed into her tight entrance and she screamed and gasped. He thrust at a furious pace, one that only a demon could be capable of. The other demons looked on, enjoying the show. One of the demons was so bold as to try to join in, and Sel allowed it. "I can't be the only one having fun, now can I?" _

_The other demon, who wasn't as big as Sel, wedged his own thick length next to his. They slammed into her repeatedly. It felt as though she was going to tear in two. Her body quivered and shook, the only thing holding her up was the chains. The sting of the whip fell on her back and she realized Sel was back to torturing her even more. She screamed into the night sky and—_

"Arthur? Are you ok?"

I snapped my head up to see Alfred looking at me. I quickly shut the journal and set it aside. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Your face is kinda red… You aren't sick, are you?"

"No. No, I'm not sick. It's nothing." I give him a small smile, trying to convince him that I am indeed not sick.

"Ok then, whatever you say!" He glances at my journal. "What were you writing?"

"Nothing important." I say quickly, putting the journal back on my desk. I glance at my watch quickly. "Didn't you want to go to dinner?" I ask, changing the subject before he can question me. I am extremely secretive of my writing for an obvious reason. That was certainly not something Alfred needed to be reading.

"Oh yeah! It is about dinner time, isn't it? Let's go then!" He gets off of his bed and walks towards the door. I quickly follow him, banishing the thoughts of my book from my mind. We walk out of the building, passing a few people on the way.

We make it to the sidewalk and start or way to the restaurant. "I've been here a couple times before and it's really good! I'm sure you'll like it!" Alfred starts talking.

"We'll have to see about that…" I say. My mother had always told me that American food was rubbish and shouldn't be eaten.

"The town is pretty cool too. It's quiet but there are some cool people." He starts going on about some of the different places and people around here. Soon enough, we reach the restaurant.

He leads me inside and we take a seat at a booth. A waitress comes by and gives us menus and takes our drink orders. I look over the menu and have a hard time finding something that seems appealing. I almost ask Alfred for a recommendation but rethink it. I settle for the least revolting of everything on there. The waitress soon comes back and we place our orders.

"So what was it like where you lived?" Alfred suddenly asks.

"Oh, um… rainy, I suppose." I shrug, setting the menu down.

"Come on, it has to be more than rainy!"

"Well, where I lived, it was a small city. It was about thirty minutes outside London, I believe. Outside of where I lived was all farmland." I sigh, missing my home already.

"Did you like it there?" He asks.

"Yes, I suppose I did."

"Do you like America?"

I look up at him. "It's only my first day here, I'm not sure yet."

"Well, tell me if you start to like it! I love it here, there's nowhere else I would rather live. It would be cool to visit other places too though! Maybe you can take me to England!"

"No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Aw, why not?"

"Because I barely know you and I don't think I would want to deal with you that long." I shake my head. "Besides, the people of England wouldn't want to deal with you running around either."

"Would it be better that I go on my own? Without any supervision or monitoring?" He grins.

"Well, no, I don't think that would be good—"

"Then it's settled! You're taking me to England!" He laughs loudly.

"That's not going to happen…" I sigh.

"Yes, it will! I will make sure of it!" He smiles. At that moment, the waitress comes back with our food. She sets my sandwich in front of me and a large cheeseburger in front of Alfred.

I look at his burger. "What on earth is that?" That looks like the greasiest and most disgusting thing ever.

"It's a burger! Don't you have these in England?"

"Well, yes, but not something quite like that…" I cringe as the smell assaults my nose.

"It's the best thing ever! Try a bite!" He shoves the 'food', if that's what it really is, in my face.

"I'd rather not." I just shake my head and take a bite of my turkey sandwich. It's actually not horrible, it's quite ok.

He shrugs. "More for me then!" He shoves a large bite of it into his mouth. "Thith ith rea-y goo!" He says, his mouth full of cheeseburger.

"Please swallow before speaking. That is so disgusting."

He chews for a few seconds before swallowing. "I said, this is really good! I love the burgers here!" I just roll my eyes.

We finish off the rest of our food and Alfred pays. I feel a little guilty, allowing him to pay for it. I know I don't have any money now, but I'll pay him back as soon as I can. We exit the restaurant and return to the dorms as the sun is setting. I yawn, realizing how late it is back home. Alfred looks at me.

"You're tired already? It's only five forty-five." He says.

"It's eleven forty-five back home then. I haven't adjusted to the time difference yet…" I say, my eyes half lidded.

"Whoa… It's been a seriously long day for you then, literally!" He laughs a little.

"Yes, yes, you're so funny." We enter our room. "I'm going to bed. Don't wake me up." I grumble. I slip off my shoes and look through my clothing for my pajamas. "Bloody hell…" I swear.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't seem to find my pajamas… I think I may have forgotten them…" I groan and sit on my bed.

"You wear pajamas? What are you, nine? I sleep in my boxers and a t-shirt." He laughs at me.

"Yes, that's what happens when you have an overprotective, worrying mother. I suppose I could just sleep like that for tonight…" I sigh.

"It's way more comfortable! Besides, pajamas are for little kids!"

"I suppose so…" I grumble and shed my clothes down to my boxers with the British flag on them and my white t-shirt. I feel so exposed for some reason. I quickly get under the blanket on the bed.

Alfred laughs. "I like your boxers! I have a pair like those but they're the American flag instead. Way cooler than Britain's flag!"

"It's not actually, but I don't feel like arguing with you right now. Have a pleasant sleep." I turn and face the wall, shutting my eyes.

"Goodnight, Artie!"

"This is the last time I'm going to say it…" I mutter. "My name is Arthur!"

* * *

Yeah, so as always, reviews are appreciated! It makes me happy to know that people actually read my stories to let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

I wake up still in the darkness. I look around, moonlight casting dark shadows on everything. I can see Alfred's digital alarm clock on his desk. How can it only be twelve thirty…? After quickly doing the math in my head, I realize it's six thirty back home. I hate this bloody time difference.

I sit up, rubbing the sleepiness from my eyes. I should probably try to sleep for another couple hours but I don't think my body will let me. I was never one for sleeping in. I look around and grab a scone, munching on it quietly. There's not much I can do at this hour. I wouldn't want to turn on a light and risk waking up Alfred.

I hear something rumble against my bed. I see the light from my phone's screen light up against the wall. I grab it and look at the screen, my eyes adjusting to the light. To my surprise, I see that's it's my brother, Connor. 'What did you do to mum? She won't come out of her room'

I sigh. Of course he has to text me about this as soon as he wakes up. I reply quickly. 'I didn't do a thing to her, you bloody git. It's midnight here so I suggest you leave me alone.'

The reply comes a couple minutes later. 'Somebody's being a bit grumpy.'

I roll my eyes. I don't even want to respond to him right now. 'I'm not grumpy. Now bugger off.'

My phone vibrates a moment later but it's not Connor. It's Allistor. I groan quietly. I do _not _want to deal with him at this hour. Or at all, for that matter. 'I will personally drag your arse back to England if you don't fix what ya did to mum'

Honestly, they're both complete gits. 'I'm not coming back to England and I did nothing to Mum. Now leave me alone!'

Connor responds as soon as my text to Allistor is sent. 'No, tell me what you did to mum'

'I didn't do a thing to her!'

Allistor responds. 'The hell you aren't, we will board the next plane to where ever you are and we'll bring you right back'

Connor's response comes in a moment later. 'Yes you did. Now do something about it'

My gets the better of me. 'I am done listening to you, you bloody git! I am not coming back to England nor am I going to do a damned thing about Mum. You can deal with her!' I send the same message to both of them, set my phone to silent, and toss it across my bed.

The first thing I want to do in the morning is not dealing with them. It never has been and it never will. I start to not miss England as much. Yes, it would be nice to be there where everything if familiar and the food is decent and I actually have money, but not with them. I just need to stay away from my family. If my mum decides to regain her sanity and talk to me like a normal person, then I would be happy to mend our relationship. Until then, they can all just bugger off.

I lay back down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I haven't even got through my first full day in America and I'm already miserable. I figured I'd be able to get away from my brothers and mother like this but I suppose not. On top of that, the people here aren't the best either. Everyone is loud and inconsiderate and, as if the Americans aren't enough to handle, there's a bloody Frenchman here too. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't tried to break into my room. Such a creep…

I hear a noise from across the room. I glance over at Alfred. He's shifting and turning around in his bed, making small noises. _Is he honestly… whimpering? _I can't help but think to myself. I hear him speak softly. "M-mom… no… Mom, come back… hnnn… Dad… please…" I strain to hear him. He must be dreaming about his parents. But… it doesn't seem like a pleasant dream, more like a nightmare. I can hear him sobbing quietly into his pillow. He turns again, reaching up towards the ceiling. "Mom…! Dad…! Come back… no…"

Oh, I can't just let him stay like that. I slowly get out of bed and crouch down next to him. I gently shake his arm. "Alfred… Wake up…" He just continues to cry and groan. "Alfred!"

His eyes snap open and he sits up quickly. "What? Where am I…? What happened? Where'd they go?"

"Alfred, calm down. You were having a bad dream." I stand up.

His breathing slows a little and he looks at me. "Again…? Damn it…"

"Are you ok? You were… crying and talking in your sleep."

"Oh, um, yeah… This happens sometimes… Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was up anyways. My brothers were bothering me."

"Oh…" He wipes his eyes and sighs. "Th-thanks for waking me up…"

"It was no problem at all… If you don't mind my asking, what was your nightmare about…?"

"…My parents. They… they died when I was younger…"

"Oh… I'm sorry… I suppose we can relate on that part… My father passed away when I was young as well."

He smiles sadly. "I guess we have something in common, then…"

"If you want to… you can talk to me about it. I… I wouldn't want you to be upset over it." Why on earth am I saying these things? I barely know the guy and yet I'm saying something like that.

"Ya know, for someone who claims to not be my friend, I think we could be good friends…"

"What makes you say that?" I say, slightly bewildered.

"You understand what I go through, and I understand what you go through. If you weren't so uptight and stingy, we could be friends."

I roll my eyes. "Uptight and stingy? Thanks…" I walk back over to my bed. Just when I thought he might be tolerable, he goes and says something like that.

"Hey, I didn't mean it in a bad way—"

"Then in what way could you have possibly meant it? Forget I even said anything, go back to sleep." I shake my head and mutter, "You try to be a nice person and what do you get? You're called uptight and stingy…" I lay back down and stare at the ceiling.

"Artie—"

"My name is Arthur, you bloody git." I growl.

"Fine, Arthur, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." When I don't say anything, he sighs. "Can we please start over?"

"What do you mean?" I mutter.

"I mean, we could start over so maybe we could be friends. Like anything that happened, didn't happen."

"That's ridiculous."

"C'mon, please." He whines.

"No, it's just stupid." I state and roll on my side, facing the wall.

"Arthur, I said I'm sorry…" I sigh as I remember every time someone has said 'I'm sorry' and thought it was enough. After my friends would tease me when I was young, after my mother would yell at me for something my brothers did, after my father died and that was all I ever heard. I honestly hate the words now, even though I'm forced to say them on a daily basis. Nobody is ever truly sorry, especially not the obnoxious insulting American sitting at the other side of the room.

I ignore him and I just hear him turn in his bed or something. Finally, he'll leave me alone. I check the time on my phone, it's one in the morning. I shut my eyes, trying to fall back asleep.

After several long hours of boredom and listening to Alfred's snoring, the sun starts to rise and it shines in my eyes. I grumble and get up. Alfred is still asleep in his own bed. I wish I could have slept more, maybe then I wouldn't have to listen to his bloody snoring.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and glance out the window. The sun is barely above the horizon and the golden light casts long shadows on everything. I stand up and pull on a fresh pair of trousers and a shirt. I pull a jumper on over my shirt, deciding to go out for a morning walk. I shove my key to the room into my pocket and slip out the door, careful not to wake Alfred, though I don't think much could.

I walk out of the building and walk on the path leading throughout campus. I glance up at the trees as I walk, listening to the morning birds sing. _This is nice, _I think to myself. The gold light shines through the trees' leaves, speckles of light dancing on the ground as a gentle breeze sweeps by. My messy blond hair sways slightly as I sit down on a bench on the side of the sidewalk. Glancing up at the morning sky, I inhale deeply and sigh.

This is something I was never able to do back home. I was constantly working or at school. Even if I wasn't busy, it was always raining. There was no bright sun or gentle breeze or anything of the sort. It was dark and dreary and miserable. I loved it there, but I could honestly get used to this.

Slowly, the campus grounds come to life. Some of the other students make their way out of their dorms and walk around with friends, either new or old. All of their conversations are calm and quiet, allowing me to still enjoy the peacefulness—

"Artie!"

Damn that obnoxious American! It seems there is no escape from him.

Alfred runs over to the bench, waving. He slides onto the bench, bumping into my side. "What the bloody hell do you want?" I ask.

"You weren't in your bed when I woke up. I was wondering where you went so I went looking!" He smiles wide.

"I don't care. It's none of your business as to where I am. Now leave me alone, you bloody git." I growl. So much for a peaceful morning…

"Wow, so harsh, dude! So what're ya doing out here? It's pretty boring out here."

"It's not boring, it's relaxing and peaceful. Well, it was until you pushed your revolting noisy face into the picture." I make a disgusted face and look away from him.

"You're pretty mean, you know that? I should fix that!" He says cheerfully. "People say I rub off on them. Maybe I can make you nice!"

"No, you can't." I huff. "I have been raised as a gentleman; there is no way an obnoxious American such as you could change that."

"A gentleman? Dude, how old are you?" He laughs. "Aren't old guys the only ones who are gentlemen?"

"Old? Now that is just insulting." I fold my arms. "I'm nineteen, I'll have you know."

"Really? I'm eighteen! You are old!" He laughs and pokes me. "Haha! Old man!"

"I refuse to listen to this!" I stand up and storm away from him.

"Hey! Wait up! Artie!" He runs after me. I just shake my head and keep walking. He catches up to me and grabs the back of my jumper. I turn quickly and smack his arm away.

"Do _not _touch me!" I take a step backwards away from him and ram into something. Or someone is a better term.

I glance back at who I ran into. _No, some_thing _was better, _I think as Francis gazes at me.

"Why, hello, mon ami! Having boyfriend troubles already?" He gestures to Alfred with a grin on his face. "I'd be glad to replace him." He says, wrapping an arm around my waist.

I feel as though I am going to vomit. "Get the bloody hell away of me, you perverted frog!" I push him away and straighten out my jumper. "And I am most definitely not having boyfriend troubles! I am _not _gay!" …I think.

"Are you so sure? You seem rather flustered."

"I am NOT gay! Now, if you'd please leave me alone!" I shove past Alfred and hurry back to the dorm. I do not want to have to have that or any conversation with them. Why in the world can't I find a single damned person who isn't annoying?

I soon reach the dorm and sit down on my bed. I know Alfred will most likely come back here, but there's no helping it, I suppose. The encounter replays through my head. Gay? Me? That is absolutely ridiculous. How could any other male be attractive? Especially Alfred. The thought of it makes me shudder.

Alfred is just an obnoxious American. There is nothing remotely attractive about him. He is annoying, stupid, loud, and he insults the English language. What he speaks is not real English. And that accent is so interesting and intriguing—

Wait, what?

I'm going to pretend I didn't just think that.

Besides, it's not like he's physically attractive either. He obviously eats too much greasy American food since the fat shows in his cheeks. And his filthy glasses covering up those bright blue eyes. And that constantly bright smile. And his muscular body structure…

I slam my face into my pillow, screeching silently. I am _not _thinking this right now! I'm going to be sick! There is no way I could possible feel that way at all! I've only just met the guy and now I'm questioning my sexual preferen—

No! Not questioning it! I am not gay. I am _not! _

I sigh into my pillow. I can't be thinking like this. I've never thought this way… Wait, no, that's a lie. I start to remember times when I was a child, when the other boys began to take interest in the girls. While they were busy staring at the most popular girl's arse, I would glance at theirs. I'm not sure why, I had just never found girls all that attractive. Not that anyone else knew though. I had never told a soul about any of that and I had always pretended to be attracted to girls.

But I was never especially attracted to guys either. I had forced myself not to, really. And I intend to keep it that way. There had been gay students in my school back in England and it had never turned out well for them.

Slowly, the thoughts fade from my mind but I can feel them in the back of my mind. I ignore them and drift into sleep. I feel no need to be awake at this moment in time anyways.

Several hours pass and I wake up to hunger gnawing at my stomach. I guess I had forgotten to eat anything. I slowly push myself up, my bangs sticking to my forehead. Damn, it's hot in here. I get out of bed and dig a small fan out of my suitcase, plugging it into the wall and turn it on. The cool breeze soon cools me off. I glance around the room, noticing that Alfred hasn't returned. Or maybe he did and I was just sleeping. Whatever, it doesn't matter.

I straighten out my hair and my clothes in the mirror of the bathroom and head out the door. As soon as I step out into the hallway, I run into someone. _I swear, if it's Alfred or that frog…_ I think to myself bitterly. But as I look up, I realize it's neither of them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Arthur." Kiku says, bowing his head in apology.

"No, no, it was my fault. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." I say with a smile. Finally someone who is considerate and nice. "Where are you headed, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I was on my way to get some lunch. Would you like to join me?" He offers.

"Yeah, thanks. I was just on my way to get a bite to eat as well." We walk down the hall together and out the doors. "Where were you planning on going for lunch?"

"There is a small place down the street. It is quite good." We walk down the street together in silence. I glance over at Kiku, slightly surprised at his silence. He seems to be content with the silence. Finally, someone who is quiet and not annoying…

It doesn't take long for us to reach the place Kiku had mentioned. He leads me inside and we take a seat at one of the tables. I sit across from him and it doesn't take long for a waitress to come by and take our orders. We sit in silence for a while longer before Kiku says, "Is something on your mind, Arthur? You seem troubled."

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing." Those damned thoughts about being gay found their way back into my mind in the silence.

"Ok, whatever you say." There's a pause. "So, how did you sleep?" He says, trying to start a conversation.

"Honestly, it was terrible. I'm still not adjusted to the time difference."

"Yes, I know the feeling. There is a… fourteen hour time difference between here and my home."

"Fourteen? Damn, there's only a six hour difference for me." We continue on like this until our food is served. This is nice. I do believe Kiku and I can become good friends at this rate.

After lunch, we return to the dorms. "Thank you for going to lunch with me, Arthur. It was nice." Kiku says as we walk down the hallway.

"Oh, it was no problem at all. I had a good time as well. I hope we can do it again sometime."

"Yes, that seems like a good idea." We walk until we reach our respective rooms. "See you later." He says.

"Yeah, see you." I unlock my door and enter the room.

I look around and realize Alfred is sitting on his bed, his back against the wall and his head hanging down.

* * *

Ok, so I have realized a few things about this. One, I know the ages of some of them are kinda screwed up. I realized it too late and I don't feel the need to change it. Two, no, this is not a JapanXEngland fic. They're just friends, I don't ship them. So yeah... I really hope you all like this! So sorry for not updating for a few weeks, I was on vacation and didn't have wifi.

Reviews, as always, are appreciated so much! Love ya all!


	4. Chapter 4

At first, I ignore the American. I don't know what he's sulking about, nor do I really care. I walk over to my bed and sit down. For several minutes, it's unusually quiet considering Alfred is in the room. I take out a book and start reading. For some time, there's no movement except the flipping of the book pages.

Alfred slumps over, burying his face in his pillow. I sigh and peer at him over the book. "Alfred, is there something wrong?"

"I'm bored…" He moans. I roll my eyes and stay silent. He looks over at me. "You wanna go explore campus?"

"With you? No." I state simply, looking back down at my book.

"…Are you mad at me?" He asks after a moment. When I remain silent, he looks at me. "Arti—uh, Arthur…" I continue to ignore him, afraid of what might come out of my mouth if I decide to talk. "Ya know, I wanna be friends with you. Could you just try to be friends with me?" Alfred tries again. I glance up at him for a moment, seeing his blue eyes looking at me. Those bright sparkling blue eyes. I both hate them and love them right now. He pouts and begs, "Please."

I sigh, suddenly standing up. I slip on my shoes and look at him. "You said you wanted to explore campus, correct? Let's go then." His face lights up as he jumps up.

"Really? Does this mean we're friends now?" He asks excitedly, struggling to put on his shoes.

"No." I say sternly. "It means… we'll see." I leave the room and hold the door open for him. Why am I doing this? This probably won't end well, but there's no going back now. I suppose if I give him a chance, maybe he won't be as bad as I thought. Maybe being friends could be an option. Maybe more than that—

No. No thoughts like that right now. Absolutely none.

Alfred hobbles out the door with one shoe only half on. I roll my eyes and start walking down the hallway. He quickly catches up to me. "What made you change your mind to walk with me?" He asks as we exit the dorm building.

"No reason. I'm merely bored and didn't feel like listening to you whine. Besides, I'd rather not get lost tomorrow when class starts." I pause. "Actually… I don't even know my schedule yet."

"Let's go over to the office building then. I still need to pick up my schedule too." We make our way over to the office building, Alfred leading me inside. We stop by a desk and Alfred asks for our schedules.

A few minutes later, we leave with our new schedules for the year in our hands. I look mine over. "What classes do ya have?" Alfred asks.

"Looks like I have… Creative Writing, English, Orchestra, Art, Math, and Physics. What about you?" He looks over his paper then snatches mine out of my hand. "Hey! What are you doing?" I say.

He doesn't say anything. He just looks between the two papers. He looks up at me and grins. "Looks like we have four classes together!"

"Two? Which ones?" I ask quickly. This means I'm going to have to deal with him more than just in the dorms… I'm not exactly sure whether or not that's a bad thing.

"I'm not telling! You'll just have to see tomorrow." He says with a smile on his face. He hands me my schedule back.

I sigh. "Do you want to go find where our classes are?"

"Yeah, sure!" He looks around. "Your first class was Creative Writing, right? I think the Language and Writing building is this way!" He points in some direction.

The rest of the day goes like that. We wander around campus, trying to map out the best way to get to our classes. I do that, at least. I have no idea whats going on in the American's head. The entire time, he's rambling on about some random thing or another. I don't mind it, it means there's no awkward silences.

As we walk, I realize that he's really not all that bad. He's a little loud and talkitive, but other than that, he's a nice guy. I guess we could be friends after all.

vvv

POV CHANGE

I sit on a bench on campus, watching people walk by. Nobody notices me, of course. Nobody has ever been able to notice me. I'm fairly used to it though. I hear the distinctive voice of my brother and I glance in the direction it's coming from. I spot Alfred and Arthur walking together, Alfred going on about sports, I think. I smile. It's good that they're getting along. Arthur seems like a good, quiet person, someone that Al needs in his life. I wonder if he knows that Al is…?

"Mattie!" I'm snapped out of my thoughts as a familiar red eyed German runs over to me.

I smile warmly. "Gilbert! It's so good to see you!" I stand up and Gilbert jumps on me, hugging me.

"I couldn't get a hold of you all summer. What happened? Did ya die or something?"

"Obviously not. I was in Canada for the summer. My relatives wanted me to visit." I explain. Gilbert and I have been good friends since the beginning of our freshman year. His room is next door to mine and we have a lot of the same classes; we're both majoring in music.

"That's so not awesome! I wanted to hang out with you."

"Well, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to hang out now that I'm back."

"Good! I learned a new song on my guitar; you wanna listen to it?" He asks in his thick accent. Despite living in the US for about a year, his accent is still as strong as it was when I first met him. His English has gotten better, but it's still heavily accented. Not that I mind; I kind of like his accent.

"Yes, absolutely." I say. He is such a talented musician, I love listening to him play. He does occasionally play hard rock stuff, which I don't care for, but it sounds amazing when he plays it.

He suddenly grabs my hand and starts dragging me towards the music building. He's still talking about something but I don't hear it over the sound of my heart. I glance down at our hands. I begin to remember the feelings I felt last year. It's so wrong though. How could I still feel those things for my best friend, my only friend?

We soon reach the music building and those thoughts are pushed to the back of my mind. He lets go of my hand, knowing that I know my way around the music building. We walk to one of the practice rooms and I sit down on the piano bench. "I'll be right back! I have to go get my guitar!" Gilbert says, leaving me in the practice room. I watch as he leaves, feeling suddenly lonely.

I sigh. I should not be feeling like this anymore. I've been away from him for about three months, I expected these feelings to be gone by now. It's not good to feel that way about a friend. It could ruin our friendship. I have to hide it. He'll think I'm weird otherwise. I doubt he's gay anyways, he doesn't seem like the type of person that would be.

I bury my face in my hands. I can't be thinking like this. I don't want to lose him as a friend. He's the only friend I have, other than Carlos, but he's always mistaking me for my brother. I don't want to be alone, but I guess I'm alone whether he knows I like him or not.

Gilbert soon returns to the practice room with his guitar. He sits on the extra chair that was sitting in the corner. He tunes his guitar for a few moments before looking up at me. "I've been learning this one all summer. I couldn't wait to play it for you! It's so awesome!"

"Well, I'm here now so go ahead and play." I say gently. He grins and starts playing. The quiet melody fills the room. I listen to the chords as the pace of the piece picks up, evoking different emotions. That's what I think music really is, our emotions put into sound. I have always done that when I play my flute or piano.

Sooner than I would have liked, the song ends and Gilbert looks up at me. "So what did ya think?"

"It was beautiful! Absolutely…" I pause, thinking of the right word. "Awesome! I've never heard that before, who wrote it?"

His face turns a slight shade of pink. "…I did, actually." He laughs. "Ya really think it's awesome?"

My eyes widen. "Yes! It was amazing! What inspired you to write it? It sounded sad… But happy and passionate at other spots."

"W-well… There's someone I kinda have a crush on… It was about them." He says, his face turning almost as red as his eyes. My heart sinks, but I put on a smile.

"Aww, that's so sweet." That's all I allow myself to say. I feel like if I said anything else that I would regret it.

He grins. "I remembered when I was writing this how you say that music is a reflection of our emotions. I just… poured my heart out into it. I guess it turned out to be pure awesomeness, just like me!"

"Yes, it is pretty awesome." I look at the time on my phone and my stomach grumbles. "Do you want to go get something to eat?" I ask quietly. "I'm hungry."

He smiles wide. "Yeah! Let me go put my guitar away and we'll go!" He runs out of the practice room before I can say anything else.

We go to a resturaunt in town that we went to a lot last year. We talk and swap stories about our summers. We laugh and I listen to him talk. That's usually how our friendship has gone. He talks and I listen. Somehow, we get on the topic of the new freshman at our school.

"So, what do you think of them? Have you met any yet?" He asks me.

"Just one. My brother introduced me to his roommate." I say, taking a sip of my drink.

"What's he like?"

"He's British. He seems pretty nice. His name is… Arthur, I think."

"Oh, a Brit? One of the foreign students, huh?"

"What do you mean by that? We're both foreign students!"

He laughs. "Kesesese! I didn't mean anything by it; I was joking." I just roll my eyes.

"What about you? Have you met any freshman?"

"Yeah, two of them, actually! They seem pretty cool. They're both foreign; a Frenchman and a Spainiard."

"What are their names?"

"Francis and Antonio, I think. I figured making some new friends wouldn't hurt, so I invited them to go out next weekend. Do you want to come?" He asks.

"Oh, no, that's ok. Thanks for the offer." I say quietly. Making friends obviously isn't something I'm good at. I'll end up being a third… no, fourth wheel, anyways. Not that I would ever tell that to Gilbert.

"Are you sure? We haven't been able to hang out!"

"Yeah, I'll probably have homework or something. You have fun with your new friends."

We soon return to the dorms. We both go into my room. My roommate, an Austrian called Roderich, looks up at us. "Oh, you're back." He says with distaste when he spots Gilbert.

"Hell yeah, I'm back! Did you miss the awesome me?" Gilbert grins.

"No. Not at all. Now why don't you go back to your room where you belong?"

"But it's boring in my room! In here, I can hang out with Mattie _and _you! It's so awesome!"

"Go away." Roderich says, annoyed. He glares at him with his purple eyes. Roderich is also majoring in music but he's way more advanced than I am. He's been playing the piano for years, since he was a little kid, I think. He's one of the few people who truly appreciates music that I know. Unfortunately, he's kind of aristocratic and annoying…

"Nah, I don't think I'm going to." Gilbert says, flopping down on my bed. I sit on the foot of the bed, not wanting to get in the middle of their arguing.

Roderich sighs and stands up. "I'm leaving. I'm not going to listen to you." He grabs a book off his desk and storms out of the room.

"That worked out better than I thought it would." He grins, laughing in his normal hissing way. I've missed that laugh. He looks over at me with his red eyes as I mentally scold myself for thinking like that. "Hey, Mattie, you got anything to eat? I'm kinda hungry…"

"You're always hungry." I say, standing up. I look through my desk drawers until I find a box of crackers. I hand the box to him and he quickly tears it open, shoving several crackers in his mouth at once.

"Want some?" He says, barely understandable with the crackers in his mouth. I just smile a little and take a few crackers from the box. I munch on them silently, watching Gilbert out of the corner of my eye.

We sit there for some time, chatting about random things. The topic switches several times but somehow we start talking about my brother. "How do you think he's gonna do in school?" He asks, tossing aside the now-empty cracker box.

I shrug. "I'm not sure. He was the top of his class in high school, but he doesn't always take things like school seriously… He can be kind of an idiot."

"Well, he's got a smart brother like you! I'm sure he'll do fine!" He says cheerfully.

I smile a bit. "Yeah, I suppose so." I look over at him but realize his whole demeanor has changed. Though he was his happy energenic self a moment ago, he's now leaning against the wall, looking down at the bed. I sit up a bit. "What's the matter?"

"…I haven't told you before, but I have a little brother." He gazes out the window. This isn't like him at all. He's so quiet and sad looking. "He… When we were little, we got into an accident and he lost his memory. He was so afraid of my father and I… He was taken away and placed in a different home." He pauses for a little while. Should I say something? Does he expect me to say anything? Before I can open my mouth, he continues. "I haven't seen him since. You're lucky to be with your brother so much. I never got much of a chance to…"

After a moment, I say, "Gilbert… I'm so sorry, I had no idea." I scoot closer to him. "I won't talk about Alfred as much if it makes you remember such painful things…"

He glances up at me. "No, I probably shouldn't have said anything about it. Sorry for making you listen to that!" He say, forcing a smile on his face.

"If you want to talk about it…" I start quietly.

"It's alright, Mattie. Don't worry about it. I just wonder…" He says, thoughtfully. "If maybe he's still doing alright out there. Who knows? Maybe he's as awesome as me!" He just shakes his head, laughing lightly. "It's not like I'd see him again though… He's probably somewhere in Germany, happy with his family."

"If he is, then that's good. Wouldn't you want him to be happy?" I say, trying to put him in his normal joyful mood.

He just nods. "Yeah, I really hope he is happy." He sighs, smiling. "Thanks, Mattie, for listening to me. It felt good to get that out."

"It's no problem at all. It's what I'm here for." I say before realizing Gilbert's eyes have been overcome with emotion. Before I can do anything, he tackles me, hugging me tightly.

"You're my best friend ever!" He says happily. He holds me close, rolling about on the bed.

I laugh quietly, struggling to breathe. "Thank you, Gilbert. You're my best friend too." My smile only falters for a second as I realize that 'best friends' is all we'll ever be. I push away the thoughts and enjoy being in his arms for now, even if it is just friendly.

* * *

I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this! I just lost all motivation and inspiration (they escape me so easily) and didn't realize how long had passed since I'd last written this! So I hope you all liked this chapter! I'll try to write the next one a bit faster, I promise...

Thank you so much for reading! Reviews, as always, are loved and cherished!


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